WASHINGTON, D.C. - Catholic (3-1) fell to Hood (4-1), 65-63, in the Battle of Maryland/DC Championship on Sunday. The 17th-ranked Cardinals ended the contest on a 12-0 run, holding the Blazers scoreless over the final 5:25, but two late looks in the final seconds wouldn't fall for Catholic. 

Hood led 65-51 after a Jack Fricka three with 5:25 left to play in Sunday's contest. Jake Timby knocked down a jumper 22 seconds later to start. a 12-0 run for the Cardinals, pulling them ever-so-close to evening up the score. 

Sean Neylon drilled a triple with 4:33 left to pull the deficit to single digits for Catholic. Another three, this one from Tommy Kelly, cut the Hood lead to six with just over four minutes remaining. Both teams traded misses before Kelly came away with a steal. His layup was blocked by Garrison Linton, but Neylon pulled down the offensive board and scored to make it a 65-61 game with 3:01 left. 

Neylon scored again with 1:26 left on the clock, rebounding his own miss before cutting Hood's lead to two. Catholic had three chances in the final 45 seconds, but a pair of Jesse Hafemeister threes wouldn't fall and a Brian Herbert tip-in attempt fell short as the buzzer sounded. 

Hood pulled ahead with a 13-7 run over the final 4:57 of the first half to take a 43-37 lead before a much lower scoring second half. The game sat tied at 30 after a Jake Melady three with 4:57 remaining in the first, but Garrett Cox hit a pair of three and Garrison Linton knocked one down for the Blazers. Hood led by nine with less than a minute left before Kelly drained a three with 17 seconds left in the half, giving him his first bucket of the game. 

Neylon had his best scoring game of the season, tallying a game-high 19 points, hitting five threes in the process. Melady was the only other Cardinal in double figures, scoring 11 points and hitting three threes. 

Catholic knocked down a season-high 15 threes, but took 50 shots from beyond the arc in the contest. Four Blazers scored at least 11 points in the winning effort led by 15 from Troy Fulton and 14 from Tournament MVP Linton. 

Herbert and Neylon were named to the Battle of Maryland/DC All-Tournament Team. 

Catholic returns to action on Tuesday, hosting Marymount (Va.) on Franny Murray Court before Thanksgiving break.